Where do I start with both the Shin Megami Tensei series and the Persona series?

[Xdqwerty]

I only played the snes version of digital devil story Megami Tensei and i havent played any persona game

 

[linuxares]

I've played SMT IV and V, also Persona 4 and Persona 5.

None of the games had anything to do with each other more than being games in the SMT universe. So pick up any

 

[pustal]

I only played the snes version of digital devil story Megami Tensei and i havent played any persona game

Never played any, but looks easy:

 

[Hayato213]

Try Persona 5 Royal

 

[Xdqwerty]

Never played any, but looks easy:
View attachment 414497

What

 

[Micolash]

Try Persona 5 Royal

^ Persona 5 is my fav of the series, def a good one to start with. Banging music

 

[linuxares]

Never played any, but looks easy:
View attachment 414497

Persona 4? Female MC? What?

 

[ILuvGames]

I had the first Persona game on my PSX. Never got into it enough to recommend it but i'm liking playing Persona 4 Golden on my Vita.

 

[pustal]

What

Persona 4? Female MC? What?

 

[The Catboy]

See one that looks interesting to you, pick it up, and start playing. There’s not really “starting point” in the series.

 

[Beetlejuice90]

I started with Persona 4 Gold on the Vita. Liked it so much bought PErsona 5 when it was first released. Now I am playing Persona 3 FES and loving it.

 

[Kaisaan]

There isn't really any true "starting point" for the Megami Tensei series unless you want to play the games in release order. Stuff like the timeline posted above that you'll see many versions of online aren't always correct and rely more on stretches/references than anything being an actual sequel. Pretty much any Megami Tensei game is standalone so just pick up whatever looks cool to you. If you want to play everything then going in general release order is good. Based off of what you've played (MT1 SNES), you could try Megami Tensei II or even the mainline Shin Megami Tensei games as they're pretty much a continuation of the mechanics introduced in that game (first person dungeon crawling, demon fusion, demon negotiation, etc.) If you're struggling to figure out what games were translated into English (either officially or fanmade), I have this spreadsheet that might help you with that. Regardless, I hope you enjoy your journey with this series! Also play Jack Bros.

 

[sombrerosonic]

It truly depend at the end of the day.

I personally recommend Persona 3 and SMT 3 as your first game.

 

[Chary]

Persona 4 Golden is now the oldest and hardest game to get into. So start there so you don't have to backtrack from the QoL that comes from Royal and Reload. P4 is also just the most approachable in tone and characters imo.

 

[LeoTCK]

I never played any but I have a friend (who I don't hear often from anymore) who knows those games well. I might ask him and see if he replies.